Water, Water, Everywhere

Water, Water, Everywhere

Water, Water, Everywhere
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	4.6

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		flushing, headline, leaky, soaker, sprinkler, unusable, commercial, factor, readily, reservoir, running, wells, defense, works, affects, ensure
	content words:		Please Conserve

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Water, Water, Everywhere
By Phyllis Naegeli

¹     Today's headline reads, "Water Shortage - Please Conserve." What's all the fuss about? Isn't water a renewable resource? That would mean we can use as much as we want. But, wait a minute. It's true that water is renewable. The water cycle shows us that. However, we need the right kind of water in the right places all the time. That just doesn't happen. Why? Let's see how all this works.

²     The water cycle is constantly working. The sun evaporates water into the air from the lakes and oceans. As the air is saturated and cooled, clouds form. Then the water falls to the ground as rain or snow. The water then flows into the ground to the water table; into lakes, rivers, and streams; and back to the ocean. Then the cycle starts again.

³     All life needs clean, fresh water to survive. You can go days without food but not without water. If you don't get the water you need, your body dehydrates. You can't live very long without water. Ninety-seven percent of the water on earth is in the ocean. The salt in the ocean water makes it unusable. Another two percent is frozen in the ice caps and glaciers on the earth. This leaves one percent of the water on earth available for us to use. There are many factors that affect the amount of water available for you. Where you live, the amount of rain that falls, and how water is collected and reserved all affect the amount of cool, clear water available.

Paragraphs 4 to 8:
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